Gay and lesbian college groups announced plans for activities celebrating Gay and Lesbian Awakening Day (GLAD) during a press conference yesterday at Taipei's National Taiwan University (NTU).
This is the ninth year of GLAD, which was begun in 1994 by NTU gay and lesbian social groups Lambda and GayChat. Although GLAD began as a day of recognition held on June 1, it has evolved into a series of social awareness and recognition events held over the course of each May and June at various universities throughout northern Taiwan, GayChat representatives said.
PHOTO: LO PEI-TE, TAIPEI TIMES
This year's GLAD is sponsored by thirteen homosexual social and educational college groups.
"We used the acronym GLAD because the meaning of `glad' reflects our attitude in planning this event. Through these events, we hope to provoke others to consider their definitions of identity," said Chang Hsiao-hung (
Gay and lesbian acceptance in Taiwan is limited, students said.
"In places like the United States and northern Europe, gays and lesbians are able to be much more open than in Taiwan," said Kao Yi-chao (
"2003 and 2004 has been a period of time when many events have hurt the gay and lesbian community," Kao said, referring to instances such as this January's police raid on a homosexual party in Taipei and the confiscation of gay magazines from the bookshop Gin Gin's (
"We want to let the public know about our rights as homosexuals and increase discussion," he said.
The students also called on the government to push through the protection of human rights basic law (
The act allows gays and lesbians to organize families and adopt children. It is still under discussion in the Legislative Yuan.
This year's GLAD events include a mini-film festival featuring the 2003 Hong Kong film Let's Love, the German movie The Einstein of Sex, 2001's Corner's, new movie Splendid Float by local director Zero Chou (周美玲), and Canadian movie Better than Chocolate.
Other events include a discussion forum, literary and artistic expression competition and a dance.
To learn more about GLAD, see its Chinese Web site at http://home.kimo.com.tw/glad9th or e-mail ewgun@pchome.com.tw.
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